Community comes together to remember Vince Childs

June 25, 2019

June 25, 2019

By Nate Smelle

Community members assembled outside the Bancroft Dollar Store Plus on Snow Road just before sunset on Sunday evening to mourn the loss of beloved local business owner Vince Childs.
Childs passed away earlier that day following his second battle with cancer. Many in the crowd of 60+ family members, friends, neighbours and customers gathered outside Childs’ store for the candlelight vigil that night, placed flowers and wrote messages on the sidewalk to pay their respects. Others shared stories of how they knew Childs and were touched by his kindness and generosity. Well known for offering his support to a multitude of community events, Childs donated more than $60,000 to several local charities and causes over the past seven years.
Childs’s friend and neighbour Elton Robinson quickly organized the vigil after learning of his friend’s passing that afternoon. He was also one of the community members to share memories of how Childs had helped him in his time of need. Robinson said that two years ago when he was in need of a kidney transplant Childs was the first to come to his aid by raising funds and organizing a charity barbecue.
Remarking on how many people had shared similar stories about Childs at the vigil, he said “People have been commenting on how Vince was good to them and the community is being really supportive and telling us their stories of how he impacted their lives. We just wanted to remember Vince because he is like family to us. There was nothing that man wouldn’t do for anybody, and everybody is really going to miss him.”
Wendy Dillagough was another of Childs’s friends to assist Robinson in putting on the gathering that night. Reminiscing on her family’s friendship with Childs and his compassion towards others, she said “Vince was like the community’s Dad. He was a wonderful man and he has left a humongous hole in the community. The devastation and how much the community has been rocked by this man’s death is unfathomable.”
In a message to her uncle, Alison Childs aptly describes just how much Childs is loved throughout the community, stating “Certainly if love was a cure we would all live amazing lives. In your case if love was a cure you would live forever.”